We are finally drawing to a close...seeing the light at the end of the tunnel...coming to the preverbial last stop on this long ride. How's that for waxing poetic? For the obvious security reasons, I cannot disclose our exact redeployment date, but as the title of this post states, the end is near. We'll be hitting the infamous Fort Dix with plenty of time to enjoy the snow...again. A little time sorting out the paperwork and seeing doctors about the various ailments we will inevitably suffer from and we'll be off to Texas in no time.

As I predicted many months ago when rumors of improvements to this basecamp first surfaced, the improvements are almost here. Just in time for us to leave. Makes one want to stick around a little longer and enjoy the nicer living conditions....NOT. The new internet cafe is nearing completion. The multipurpose building (to house the gym and chapel) hit a little snag when a scheduled detonation sent shockwaves that collapsed the ceiling. Great Iraqi workmanship for you there. They're actually pouring concrete around our dining facility to get rid of the problem of mud and poor drainage. Everywhere you look now you can see gravel covering the dirt/mud. That last rain storm we got really buried us underwater. My crew got to sit in about six inches of water on Christmas (yes, we worked on Christmas), as we watched the desert turn into a huge lake. Of course, since this isn't a sandy desert, that dirt turned into mud and we got to slip slide around. That would have been fun except, as some of you may know, my crew is a little wary of mud and sliding around. Christmas dinner was good, not better than Thanksgiving, but good nonetheless.

Thanks to all for the holiday wishes and packages. I'll be ushering in the New Year while working on mid shift. I'm lucky like that. The New Year to me will mean half my shift is over...woohoo.